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STANFORD, Calif. – The Stanford men's volleyball team has been chosen by the conference coaches to finish fifth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation this season, the league announced today. The Cardinal returns all of its starters from last year’s squad which finished sixth in the MPSF with a 12-12 conference mark.

BYU and Long Beach State each garnered three first-place votes and 126 points overall to tie for first in the poll. Two-time defending national champion UC Irvine (125) finished third in the poll despite picking up six first-place votes. UCLA (117) collected the final first-place vote and sits ahead of the Cardinal at No. 4.

Pepperdine (90) and UC Santa Barbara (79) complete the first half of the poll, taking sixth and seventh place, respectively. USC, which finished tied for 11th in the MPSF standings in 2013, collected 74 points to come in at No. 8. Hawai’i (51), Cal State Northridge (47), Pacific (38), UC San Diego (24) and Cal Baptist (18) round out the poll.

Stanford is coming off its sixth consecutive winning season (15-13) under head coach John Kosty, now in his eighth season at the helm of the program. The Cardinal has also finished amongst the top 10 in the nation for six straight years and had a player named a first team AVCA All-American for the fifth consecutive season.

It was also announced earlier this week that Stanford would serve as the host site for the 2015 NCAA men’s volleyball championship. The Cardinal last hosted the event in 2010, securing its second NCAA title in program history in front of its home crowd in Maples Pavilion.

The Cardinal opens the 2014 season at the 50th ASICS UCSB Tournament in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Jan. 3-4. Stanford’s home opener is set for Friday, Jan. 10 against Lewis University in Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal will also take on Grand Canyon University on Jan. 11 in Burnham Pavilion.